The Chicago Bears released both Eddie Jackson and Cody Whitehair, two moves that were not very surprising from the big picture. For Whitehair, age, injury, and his contract status were playing a big role. Eddie Jackson also saw injuries starting to pile up, and at his age, the team thought it was best to move on.
How much cap space do the Chicago Bears currently have?
The Bears will save $12.5M this offseason by moving on from Eddie Jackson and $9.1M by moving on from Cody Whitehair. With more than $21M saved in cap space, where do the Chicago Bears currently stand?
According to Over the Cap, the Bears have $66,996,157 in cap space, but according to Spotrac, it is $70,043,701. The difference is just $3,047,544, which is not a significant amount when you factor in that the salary cap is nearly $250M. The discrepancy could be something small, such as the exact amount of rollover due to injuries, cuts, or other dead money possibilities.
Either way, the Chicago Bears will have some of the most cap space in the NFL when they enter the offseason in under one month. According to both Spotrac and Over the Cap, they are third in cap space, behind just the Tennesee Titans and Washington Commanders.
The Bears will need to spend up this offseason. First, they will place the franchise tag on Jaylon Johnson and possibly extend it to him. An extension would be cheaper on the cap than the franchise tag. The team will also need to add an edge rusher, a center, a new free safety, and some depth across the board.
As they enter the offseason, all eyes will be on the Chicago Bears because they will be making plenty of moves, and they hold a lot of the money that will be spent in free agency.